What is The Most You Should Pay for a Gym Membership?

What is the most you should pay for a gym membership?

The price of fitness is high. For many of us, just going to the gym twice a week is costing us an arm and a leg thanks to hefty upsells, all-inclusive packages, and the temptation to upgrade our membership on a whim. All of this begs the obvious question, are you paying too much for fitness? And if so, what is the most you should pay for a gym membership?

To get an answer, we have to break down our gym routine into frequency, or as this LearnVest article puts it, our “cost-per-workout.”

If you pay $100 each month at your gym and you use it 15 days a month, that’s between $6 and $7 per day of use. But let’s say you go every day… 30 times a month comes out to between $3 and $4 per day of use which is half the cost of going just 15 days a month.

Make sense? This is only to demonstrate how much the value of your gym membership changes depending on the number of times you go. It’s why the sticker price doesn’t matter nearly as much as the amount of time you spend there. YOU are the one who dictates the value of the membership.

The biggest issue for most of us is our routine and our ability (or inability) of sticking to it. Many people hit the ground running after New Years—thank you resolutions—but they quickly fizzle out. Sustainability is hard, but it’s essential if you want to get the most bang for your buck.

As Mikey Rox points out, you must be fully committed to the challenge ahead. If you’re not, get out. Don’t buy a gym membership.

If you’re living in a major city, the cost of fitness is astronomical. In New York City alone you’ll pay anywhere from $80-$200 a MONTH! Plus, if you want any personal training on top of it, you’ll practically have to tap into your retirement fund.

None of this is telling you never to workout, or not buy a gym membership. We’re just imploring you to consider the frequency at which you’ll actually use it. This, in comparison to the total cost of the membership, should give you an accurate reading as to whether it’s really worth it.

Deciding how much to pay for your gym membership isn’t an exact science; it depends on your habits. If you go every day, paying a little more won’t kill you. If you go once a month, well, just don’t get a gym membership at all.